Balancing Terror and Exhilaration

When asked about taking risks as an educator, Jim Firmin understands that both terror and exhilaration come in equal parts and that positive results come from holding the tension between the two.

A 12-year veteran teacher, Jim is described by his school’s administration as a thoughtful and reflective professional. As Head Teacher in the English Department at Nashua High North School, he has often been asked to assume leadership roles in the district, such as co-chairing a standing committee on competencies and standards-based grading and coordinating a new off-site program for students with emotional and behavioral challenges. When the district was approached by UVEI to consider a teacher who is on a leadership track and would benefit from our Principal Internship Program, the superintendent identified Jim as that person.

In applying for the program and the scholarship, Jim wrote, “If I were to design a school, I would start with my core belief in the power of education to change the lives of kids... it would be connected to the community it serves and the community would be invited to actively contribute to the learning of students.”

In addition to interning in the principal program, Mr. Firmin is concurrently enrolled in the Upper Valley Graduate School of Education, where he is a candidate for a Master of Education in School Leadership. He is a graduate of Plymouth State College.